


In Other Words

by fangirl_squee



Category: The Thrilling Adventure Hour
Genre: F/M, Weddings
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2014-12-16
Updated: 2014-12-16
Packaged: 2018-03-01 17:20:50
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 2
Words: 2,268
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/2781443
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/fangirl_squee/pseuds/fangirl_squee
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>The wedding of Frank Doyle and Sadie Parker.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> This is just /ridiculously/ sappy you guys, I don't even know what to say. Based on 'Baby I'm Yours' by Arctic Monkeys, aka the Ultimate Frank/Sadie wedding song
> 
> Huge thanks to Shannon and Sophie for betaing and encouragement, you guys are just the best.

"It's perfectly normal to be nervous on the night before your wedding," said PJ.

 

Frank shot a glare at PJ as he paced the hotel room. "I'm not _nervous_ , PJ. Frank Doyle isn't scared by anything, let alone something as banal as public speaking."

 

"I didn't say you were _scared_. I said _nervous_ ," said PJ.

 

Frank waved him off. "Same thing, it's on the spectrum of fear, a spectrum in which I take no part."

 

PJ stuck his foot out as Frank passed by the bed, tripping him up. Frank righted himself and frowned at PJ.

 

 

PJ held his hands up. “Look, all I’m saying is you should try to come back down to Earth. Catch some Z’s and ride that train of sleep to your big day.”

 

Frank turned to leave.

 

“Hey, where are you going? This is your room, remember?”

 

 

“I’m going downstairs to the bar.”

 

 

“Bar’s closed.”

 

 

“Then I’ll find a bar that isn’t,” snapped Frank, slamming the door behind him.

 

 

A nearby maid glared at him. Frank ignored her, turning sharply down the corridor. The hotel’s corridors were empty at this time of night, with most of the rooms on the floor being taken up by wedding guests from Sadie's family (and her friends. And her sister's friends. And her mother's friends. And her father's work colleagues. And ... Well it was really going to be mostly people from Sadie's side of things in the audience).

 

Frank could hear the low murmur of couples talking behind the closed doors, and occasional snatches of music from radios. He made few more turns, hesitating at the stairs. As PJ had predicted, the bar _was_ closed. Not that it really mattered, after all New York was the city that never slept, and he was sure he could find a bartender or two with insomnia.

 

However, Sadie’s room was far closer.

 

Frank turned away from the stairs and headed in the direction of Sadie’s room instead. He knocked, quietly, just in case Sadie was already asleep - but hoping she wasn't.

 

 

“Who is it?” came Sadie’s voice from the other side of the door.

 

 

Frank covered his eyes with one hand and opened the door a little. “It’s Frank, can I come in?”

 

 

“Oh Frank! You know we’re not supposed to see each other the night before the wedding!”

 

 

“It’s alright, love, I’ve got my eyes covered,” said Frank. “Would I be correct in assuming you _also_ have your eyes covered?”

 

 

“I do! How ever did you know without looking?”

 

 

“Well, I suppose your voice sounded as if you did.”

 

 

The mattress squeaked, and Frank could see the light from the bedside lamp as Sadie switched it on.

 

 

“You’d best come all the way in darling, lest  you be seen and cause a scandal,” said Sadie.

 

 

"On a scale of scandals, surely being _inside_ your room ranks higher."

 

 

“Not if no one knows you’re here,” said Sadie, a smile audible in her voice.

 

 

Frank checked that no one was about before he covered his eyes again and stepped into the room, closing the door gently behind him.

 

 

“Sadie,” Frank let out a long breath, “may I sit down?”

 

 

“Of course, darling, just follow the sound of my voice,” said Sadie.

 

 

He heard the bed shift and felt his way slowly towards the noise, and found Sadie’s hand, warm and delicate. She guided him towards the bed, and kept holding his hand even as he sat down. He felt the bed move as she shifted position, so that she was sitting alongside him, feet off the side of the bed, resting her head on his shoulder.

 

 

“Oh, darling, what’s wrong?” asked Sadie. “You’re positively radiating nerves.”

 

 

“PJ said the same thing, but you know I don’t get _scared_ ,” said Frank, “I just … I was just feeling thirsty, and I was going to go and find some sort of bar but it seems as though I have ended up here instead.”

 

 

“Not to worry, darling, I have a small amount of thirst quenching somethings right here,” said Sadie, letting go of Frank’s hand.

 

 

Frank heard the unmistakable sound of liquor being poured. She passed him a glass and they clinked them together.

 

 

“Thank you love,” said Frank, “but I don’t know that this will help.”

 

 

Sadie gasped. “Well, this sounds serious indeed! Perhaps we should retrace your steps, figuratively speaking, and find out where this all started.”

 

 

Frank took a steadying drink. “Well, before I was here, I was in the hallway. Before that, I was in my room, arguing with PJ. Before that, I was working on writing my vows –“

 

 

“Ah.”

 

 

“ _Ah_ ,” said Frank, “what do you mean, _ah_?”

 

 

“I think I may know the cause,” said Sadie carefully, “and if I am correct, I do believe I know the cure as well."

 

 

Frank heard the soft thunk of her placing her now-empty glass on the nightstand. Her fingertips lightly brushed his cheek and Frank automatically lent into her palm.

 

 

“Frank darling, you know that I absolutely cannot wait to be married to you, don’t you?” said Sadie.

 

 

Frank almost dropped his glass. “Well, Sadie love, that's a remarkable coincidence, as I absolutely cannot wait to be married to _you_ , either.”

 

 

Sadie shifted closer. "Not so much coincidence as correlation, I should think."

 

Frank mirrored her movement. "Causation, perhaps?"

 

"Close enough,” said Sadie, so close that he could feel her breath on his lips.

 

 

She leaned forward to kiss him, taking his glass away with one hand and resting the other on his chest. Sadie slid a hand between them, undoing his tie and popping open his top shirt button.

 

 

“Now remember darling,” said Sadie, pulling away just a little, so that Frank could feel the movement of her lips as she spoke, “we must keep our eyes closed, so we don’t see each other before the wedding.”

 

 

“Traditions are very important,” said Frank seriously.

 

 

He could feel her lips curve into a smile. He trailed a hand up her back, feeling for the pins in her hair and pulling them out before running his hand lightly through her curls.

 

 

“Frank,” Sadie sighed, “that’s –“

 

 

There was a knock at the door.

 

 

“Sadie dearest, are you awake?”

 

 

“Oh no, it’s Mother! She’s been by three times tonight already,” whispered Sadie. “Quick, hide somewhere, under the bed.” Louder, she added, “Just a moment, Mother!”

 

 

Frank scrambled under the bed, feeling slightly foolish as he tried to breathe as quietly as possible. Sadie’s dressing gown swished just above her bare feet as she padded to the door, opening it just far enough to speak to her mother without letting her in the room.

 

 

“Sorry, Mother, I was just making myself decent,” said Sadie. “I was already in bed.”

 

 

“Of course, Sadie dear,” said Mrs. Parker, “I was just checking to make sure you were settled in properly. This is your last night as a Parker, after all.”

 

 

“Oh, mother,” said Sadie, “that is really very nice of you, but I –“

 

 

“And I know when I was marrying your father I got quite nervous the night before, and I thought I should check, just in case you were the same,” said Mrs. Parker.

 

 

“I was a little nervous,” said Sadie. "After all, Frank is quite the adventurer, dashing and clever, and so _very_ brave. But then it occurred to me just a short while ago that he was likely experiencing his own case of nerves, and now I feel a great deal calmer.”

 

 

“That’s a very sweet thought, Sadie dear. Would you like me to go and check up on him?”

 

 

“No,” said Sadie quickly, “no, I’m sure he’s fine. His friend PJ is with him, so I’m certain that they’ve talked it all out. There’s _absolutely_ no need for you to do that. You should go and get some rest. After all, it’s not just a big day for me, it’s a big day for everyone!”

 

 

“You’re right, of course, dear,” said Mrs Parker, “Just so long as you’re going to get some rest of your own.”

 

 

“I will, I’ll go to bed right away,” said Sadie. “Good night, Mother.”

 

 

“Good night, Sadie,” said Mrs Parker.

 

 

Sadie shut the door and let out a breath as the sound of Mrs Parker’s footsteps faded away. Frank wriggled his way out from underneath the bed, keeping his eyes averted from where Sadie was standing. He could hear her pouring them each another drink before returning to her seat on the bed. Frank stayed on the floor, and rested his cheek against her knee.

 

 

“Sadie love,” said Frank, “did you mean what you just said?”

 

 

“Did I mean what, darling?” said Sadie, feeling for his hand before passing him a glass.

 

 

“Just now, when you said that you were nervous and that I was dashing, clever, and brave.”

 

 

Sadie set her empty glass down on the bedside table.

 

 

“Well, of course I did,” said Sadie. "You are all those things and more, darling.”

 

 

“And you were nervous?”

 

 

“I was,” Sadie admitted, “but then you arrived, and it seemed that you were having a case of nerves –“

 

 

“A small case.”

 

 

“A _small_ case of nerves that cancelled mine out,” said Sadie, “or perhaps it was simply seeing you, so to speak, that has made me feel better.”

 

 

Sadie ran a hand through his hair, skimming her fingernails through the short hair just above the base of his neck. Frank shivered at the sensation.

 

“Do you suppose your mother will be stopping by again any time tonight?”

 

“Unfortunately, yes,” sighed Sadie. "Apparently she was the same when my cousin Beatrice got married last year, flitting in and out at all hours, until father managed to calm her down properly.”

 

 

“Then I suppose I should go,” said Frank, “lest she visit unexpectedly while we’re in the middle of something and cause a scandal by seeing me in here before we’re married.”

 

 

Sadie laughed.

 

 

“What?” said Frank.

 

 

“Oh, I suppose it just struck me,” said Sadie, “we’re going to be married, _tomorrow_. Tomorrow I shall go from being Miss Parker to being Mrs. Doyle, here and forever after we two shall be bound together. How wonderful!”

 

 

Frank smiled, and pressed a kiss to Sadie’s knee. “I can think of no one I’d rather be bound to. And no one I’d rather have doing the binding.”

 


	2. Chapter 2

"And now," intoned the priest, "Frank and Sadie have prepared their own vows. Frank?"

 

 

Frank felt the jittery rush as the night before, as he thought of the piles of balled up notepaper back in his hotel room, all filled with crossed out scribbles.

 

"Ah. Yes." said Frank. A hush fell over the church. "Sadie love, can I be perfectly honest with you?"

 

 

"Of course, darling.”

 

 

"I didn't write any vows.”

 

 

Several society matrons, both living and dead, gasped dramatically. In the second row, Ewing Klipspringer leaned forward. Frank ignored them, and kept his eyes firmly on Sadie’s face for her reaction.

 

Sadie's lips twitched in amusement. She squeezed his hands, and the jittery feeling melted away.

 

 

"You know, I tried, honestly. I sat down with a few drinks, pen in hand, all ready to put said pen to paper and then ... nothing," said Frank, "how could mere words describe how wonderful you are, how glorious it is to know you? How much of a miracle it seems every day that you love me? Words seem so petty compared to the feelings you stir in me, but," he continued, "if you let me, I'm willing to spend the rest of my life, as well as any and all subsequent lives, trying."

 

 

"Oh Frank, that was just lovely.”

 

 

"Thank you, my dear.”

 

 

 

The priest coughed awkwardly. "Well, I ... Sadie,  _ your _ vows?"

 

 

"Oh, yes, of course.” Sadie hesitated.

 

 

Another hush fell over the crowd.

 

 

“Frank, can I tell you a secret?" said Sadie, her tone conspiratorial, as though they weren't standing in front of a room packed with everyone they had ever met.

 

 

"Of course, love, you can tell me anything.”

 

 

"I didn't write any vows, either.”

 

 

More dramatic gasping from the pews. Frank did not succeed in concealing a grin.

 

 

"I tried as well, of course," said Sadie, "and I thought about how I have loved you since the moment I met you, and how I adore you, and how you make me feel adored, and how you are never, ever boring, and how I am very much looking forward to spending this life and the one after with you, but none of it seemed right. I suppose it’s rather like you said, darling, that words seem so small in the face of my feelings for you. I am rather looking forward to a lifetime of attempting to put words to it.”

 

 

“Perhaps it’s something we can work on together,” said Frank.

 

 

Sadie smiled. “That sounds wonderful, darling.”

 

 

“Well,” said the priest hesitantly, “if that is all you’d like to say?”

 

 

“I believe so,” said Frank, “please do try and keep up.”

 

 

“Yes, we do have plans for this afternoon which I’d rather like to get to,” said Sadie.

 

 

“Then,” said the priest quickly, “I now pronounce you man and wife. You may kiss the bride.”

 

 

Frank was dimly aware of flashbulbs and applause, but it all faded away in the face of Sadie, stepping forward for their first married embrace. Sadie tilted slightly, and Frank took her movement as a sign, dipping her down as he kissed her in a smooth, dramatic moment worthy of the stage.

 

 

Sadie laughed, breathless and happy, and Frank thought he would never tire of the sound.

 

 

 

(and he never would).

**Author's Note:**

> come say hi: mariusperkins.tumblr.com


End file.
